LANSING – Incumbent statewide Republicans — including Gov. Rick Snyder, Attorney General Bill Schuette and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson — are opening up bigger leads in their re-election bids with about a month to go, a new poll shows.

At the end of August, Democrat Mark Schauer was up by 2 points, 45%-43%, over Snyder in an EPIC-MRA poll done exclusively for the Detroit Free Press, WXYZ-TV (channel 7) and media polling partners.

After that, Snyder went up on the air with television commercials featuring him talking about his record in the last four years. And the spots worked, said Bernie Porn, president of the Lansing-based polling firm. Now Snyder is ahead by a 45%-39% margin in the poll of 600 likely voters done Sept. 25-29. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Buy Photo

Results of an EPIC-MRA poll on the upcoming election.(Photo: Martha Thierry/Detroit Free Press)

"Snyder went up with his advertising campaign and it's made a significant difference in the race," Porn said. "Even with Snyder's lead, though, it is certainly not too late for Schauer to turn things around. They just have to find a message that resonates."

Fifty-four-year-old Joseph Parisi, of Taylor, who participated in the survey, said he doesn't like everything that Snyder has done, but on balance he deserves to be re-elected.

"He's gotten a hold of the budget. When Granholm was in office, they fought like cats and dogs over the budget," Parisi said. "And I agree with him pushing for the bridge (over the Detroit River)."

However, Parisi said he didn't like the way the right-to-work bill was passed or its end result.

"It just seems like union busting to me," said Parisi, who runs a carpet cleaning business. "But Snyder just seems to be the better choice of the two."

Survey respondent Margaret Redmond-Squires, 55, of Detroit, said she doesn't know much about Schauer, but anyone would be better than Snyder.

"Our gym teacher left in our school and we couldn't afford to hire another one. And we had to teach the damn gym class," she said. "And the things that Snyder has done to help his friends just really turns my stomach."

Voters will get a lot more exposure to the candidates in the coming weeks. The two candidates for governor and outside groups have spent $19.3 million on commercials through the end of September, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, which tracks campaign spending. And that total is expected to grow to $30 million by the Nov. 4 general election, said Rich Robinson of the MCFN.

Snyder's lead goes across demographic lines in the latest polls. He's winning among men and women, in outstate Michigan and Macomb County. He's holding his Republican base, 90%-4%, better than Schauer's grip on Democrats, 75%-11%; as well as leading among Independents 35%-30%.

Schauer is doing better in Wayne and Oakland counties and has a 44%-34% lead among voters who identify themselves as moderates.

"The governor's positive message of nearly 300,000 new jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in six years and increased funding for education is resonating with Michigan's voters," said Emily Benavides, spokeswoman for Snyder's campaign.

Tim Harris, 37, of Troy agrees. He said he usually votes Republican and will pick the candidate who comes closest to his anti-abortion views.

"And usually, the Democrats are anti-life," he said.

Schauer spokeswoman Cathy Basile-Cunningham noted that many of the polls released in the last several weeks have the race either dead even or with Schauer ahead by a couple of points, and that this latest EPIC-MRA poll may be a fluke.

"For a universally known incumbent to be stuck in the mid-40s means that Rick Snyder is in serious trouble," she said. "All signs point to this poll being an outlier. The last three public polls have shown Schauer with a small lead, Snyder with a small lead, and a tie race.

"No matter how hard he tries, Rick Snyder can't hide his record of raising taxes on seniors and giving huge 80%-90% pay raises to his top administration officials."

That's the reason why respondent Bob Greene, 68, of Alpena, said he won't vote for any Republican in November.

"Republicans have made my decision easy. I don't know much about Schauer, but he's not Snyder," he said. "It seems to be quite clear that his (Snyder's) interest is not in running the economy, but helping the pocket books of the people at the top of the heap already."

In other races, both Attorney General Bill Schuette and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson have expanded their leads over their Democratic challengers — Mark Totten, a Michigan State University law professor and former part-time federal prosecutor running for AG, and Detroit attorney Godfrey Dillard, seeking the SOS job.

Schuette leads Totten 38%-32%, while Johnson bests Dillard by a 40%-30% margin. Notably, Totten and Dillard aren't on most voters' radar yet. Of the 600 people surveyed, 76% didn't know Dillard and 70% were unfamiliar with Totten. Even 53% of those surveyed didn't know Johnson.

"The numbers haven't moved a whole lot on those races," said Porn. "None of them have really started advertising. And both Schuette and Johnson have much more money to put on an advertising campaign."

Totten did start airing a television commercial this week, saying his role as a former federal prosecutor will help him protect Michigan citizens.

"Bill Schuette has spent 30 years in office and over $1.5 million on this campaign, yet only a third of the voters support him because he has continually put his far-right agenda ahead of Michigan families," said John Keig, campaign manager for Totten. "All the recent polls are showing the race tied or with Mark ahead. The polls have shown that the better voters know Mark, the better they like him."

But John Sellek, campaign manager for Schuette, said earlier this week that Totten's experience was part-time and volunteer for the U.S. Attorney's office in west Michigan, and was no comparison to Schuette's career.

"Attorney General Schuette's fight to serve as a voice for the victims of crime, in addition to his being endorsed by every leading law enforcement group in Michigan, has put him in the lead and that has shown in the voters' support once again," Sellek said.

Nick DeLeeuw, Johnson's spokesman, said her record speaks volumes.

"Ruth Johnson has spent the last four years making services better, easier and faster, so Michigan residents can get what they need done, then get on with their days, and that's a record that resonates with voters," he said.

Ken Coleman, spokesman for Dillard, said their campaign has only been active for about a month but they are excited by the response they have gotten from voters across the state.

"People tell us that they're unhappy about the lack of customer service and resources dedicated to the election process," Coleman said. "People want change and Godfrey has pledged go give them that."